By Wil Phinney of the CUJ
PENDLETON – Crews began mowing greens Feb. 28 at “The Golf Course at Birch Creek” where new memberships have already eclipsed the number of members who were left when Pendleton Country Club was purchased last June by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).
One of those players, Ron Schultz of Pendleton, was putting his clubs on a cart before heading to the first tee.
“It’s the best I’ve ever seen it in 17 years,” Schultz said.
Wildhorse Resort & Casino is managing the Birch Creek operation, a mature 248-acre 18-hole course that sits on the west side of Highway 395 between Pendleton and Pilot Rock. The boundary of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is less than two miles east of the Birch Creek clubhouse across McKay Reservoir.
It was Wildhorse CEO Gary George who last spring coordinated the purchase of the property, which includes four certified subsurface and surface water rights. Birch Creek runs along the west side of the property and comes into play on several holes on the front and back sides.
The CTUIR Board of Trustees (BOT) purchased the property for $810,000 and, according to the resolution endorsing the deal, “authorized” a loan for improvements “upon completion” of an approved business plan. George said a business plan will be presented to the Board in April for “final concurrence.”
Much work has been done and much more is planned at Birch Creek Golf Course, but key to it all is more memberships.
In its hay day, Pendleton Country Club enjoyed membership of more than 400, but the number of members had dwindled to about 85 when Wildhorse stepped in last summer.
However, Mike Hegarty, PGA Head Professional at Wildhorse Resort Golf Course, said people who left the country club are coming back. In fact, memberships are already up over 100.
“People are hearing about the golf course, about the restaurant, the operation as a whole and coming back in a bull rush,” Hegarty said. “We expect memberships to grow quickly as the spring season begins.”
A big selling point for people like Ron Schultz and his playing partners, Ken Haggee and Ron Paitt, is the season pass prices.
Schultz’s bill is less than half of what it was when he was a country club member.
“I was paying about $3,000 a year with rent on my cart shed, cart maintenance and fuel,” he said.
Now he pays a single annual membership of $1,050 plus $350 to use one of the new carts in Birch Creek’s fleet.
Hegarty at Wildhorse, who is listed as Director of Golf at Birch Creek, and Ryan Dahl, Head PGA Pro at Birch Creek, want the new course to be the go-to family golf course in the region.
They’ll be pushing family nights with summer leagues and camps and clinics paired with dinners and other social activities.
“The emphasis will be on family and junior-oriented activities,” Hegarty said.
An annual family membership, for up to six people (dependents still living at home), will cost $1,250. A person under the age of 18 can get a year’s season pass for $250.
Wildhorse CEO Gary George said Pendleton Country Club was presented to the BOT last June as the purchase of fertile farm ground with valuable water rights and stream habitat. The property, zoned farmland with a conditional use for golf, includes the clubhouse, maintenance buildings and cart sheds, plus a swimming pool, and also has three lots approved for housing on a rocky east hill.
As part of the deal, Wildhorse was “obligated to run it as a golf course in 2019,” George said.
“We think the golf course could alleviate problems at Wildhorse, moving some play out to Birch Creek,” George said. “Everyone in this room thinks we have the opportunity to make Birch Creek a profitable business.”
(Sitting at the table with George was Hegarty and Dahl, plus Philip Lagao, Golf Course Superintendent at Birch Creek; Diane Long, Director of Marketing at Wildhorse; Bruce Mecham, Wildhorse Food and Beverage Director; and Al Tovey, Wildhorse Casino General Manager.)
George said Wildhorse is bumping up against, if not over, its 200-member limit, which has created some problems for resort play.
A second course at Birch Creek would take care of local play, and provide more opportunities for Wildhorse guests to enjoy resort amenities, including the Wildhorse golf course.
Wildhorse Pro Hegarty noted the difference in play between some resort players and other golfers who play more often.
“We’re busy at both places on weekends, but we want to give our Wildhorse guests the best times we can. It becomes an availability issues with inherently slow resort play. We can send educated golfers to Birch Creek to avoid the wait at Wildhorse, and we can help our once-a-year golfers who play here,” Hegarty said.
Mecham, the Food and Beverage Director, will be pursuing outdoor events, including receptions and weddings at Birch Creek.
He thinks catered events and other special functions such as monthly brunches could be a hit.
Marketing Director Long is excited about Birch Creek’s appeal as well.
“It opens up a whole world for weddings,” she said. “There’s a lot of interest. It’s like a social family gathering. That venue, beautiful trees, it’s retro. It feels like you’re out of town but you’re really not. It’s a great atmosphere.”
Plans call for creating a social event venue near an old irrigation pond just west of the first fairway after some old wooden cart sheds are removed. The pond is surrounded by trees, including several large weeping willows.
Once the BOT approves the Birch Creek business plan, George said, several renovations and improvements around the clubhouse and course will be scheduled.
Some of the biggest improvements include replacing the electric heating and air conditioning systems in the clubhouse, and swapping out old single-pane glass for energy-efficient windows.
Some of the biggest improvements include replacing the electric heating and air conditioning systems in the clubhouse, and swapping out old single-pane glass for energy-efficient windows.
Remodeling would occur in the large men’s and women’s locker rooms, too. Banks of lockers would be removed, creating usable space for workout equipment that currently is upstairs in a room that leads out to a balcony overlooking the ninth green. Also planned are facelifts for the patio, sauna and showers.
On the course, George said, he’d like to see cart paths replaced or repaired. Also, many mature – dead – trees need to be removed, which would open up the area to better highlight Birch Creek.
